Rock Cycle and Determining Relative and Absolute Age

A Sticky Cycle By Jane Partsch

The rock cycle is a very interesting cycle. It happens all around us and shapes some of the biggest landmarks in the world to day. From the eroded rocks of the grand canyon, to the sculpted beauty of Mt.Rushmore and the famous Mt. Everest. Rocks are all around us changing everyday. But even though they are changing. the help us to determine things that won't change, like our past and the past of planet earth. Rocks help scientists to figure out the relative and absolute age of different fossils and things that have happened on planet earth. But what is Relative and Absolute age. The relative age of something is how old it is compared to something else. Like how I am younger than my sister, but older than my brother. Absolute age is the age of something since it was first made. Like that painting is 126 years old. Rocks help scientists to figure out the relative and absolute age of things by showing use different layers that all represent different time periods. In sedimentary rocks, columns and groups of fossils help to show use the relative age of different organisms that lived on planet earth. This is because if the first layer of rock is the oldest and the top layer is the youngest, we can determine which fossils are younger than other one, and which are older depending on what layer they are found in. In other rocks, layers can represent what the earth was like at that time period. It also helps us to figure out relative ages of certain things like the San Andreas fault line. The San Andreas fault line is younger than the rock that it cuts across.This is because the rock had to be there to have the fault cutting across it. You can't rip a paper if you have no paper to rip. Overall, rocks all around the world help scientists figure out what happened in the past, and what could happen in the future.

SP3: Planning and carrying out investigations

I planned and carried out an investigation of how fossils and different rock layers help us to figure out what happened in the past and what could happen in the future. I was also able to organize different layers of rocks based on the fossils and the knowledge that I had about different species like ourselves, the homo sapiens. I figured out that scientists can learn things about our past and apply them to the future because what happens now, must have happened in the past and the other way around. 

XCC: Patterns

We see patterns all around us in life. From birthdays, to weekly events and different ways to count things. Patterns are all around us. One of the patterns that I see most in my life is going to school. This is something that repeats on the same basis and for a long period of time each year. Monday through Friday. The first day through last. Repeating and repeating and repeating itself. Seeing as I go to school, this pattern is a big part of my life and will soon upgrade itself to being work. Working Monday through Friday the first day till last. This is a pattern that I find to be like background noise. Basically, waking up every morning to go to school is routine for me. It is not a big deal for me that I go to school. It is just something that I do. School itself is big, but going is not. It, like many other patterns, is something that is not as noticed as other things, but they still are a big part of our life.